The Rest of the First Third

Continuing my look at Xavier's upcoming season opponents, with a bit of a nod towards how these opponents could help with RPI and playoff qualifying:

DECORAH VIKINGS

Friday, August 31

at Saints Field, Cedar Rapids Xavier High School

Broadcast on KMRY AM/FM (delayed after Kernels baseball)

There's a big change in the program at Decorah this year, and that's the fact that the Vikings have their first head coaching change in 25 years. Bill Post, an IHSAA Hall of Fame coach, has stepped away after recording a 188-71 (.726) head coaching record in 24 years at Decorah. When you add in assistant coaching time, Post had something over 40 years of experience - that's a lot of knowledge and leadership for a program that's been one of the most consistently solid in Class 3A.

New coach Pat Trewin isn't exactly new - he's been an assistant under Post for the past 22 years, so don't expect radical changes in philosophy or style. Of course, there's really no need for such changes when you consider Decorah's record. The Vikings won the state 3A title in 2012 with a perfect 14-0 mark. In the six years since kicking off that championship season, Decorah has a regular season mark of 39-15, with four playoff appearances. Saints fans no doubt remember the Vikings' playoff run in 2015; after finishing fourth in their district with a 4-5 mark, they then won two playoff games (including an upset of then-undefeated Xavier at Saints Field) and reached the quarterfinal round. Decorah also represented for Xavier's tough District 3 last year, reaching the playoffs as one of the state's two wild cards in 3A last year after a 7-2 regular season mark.

Trewin faces something of a rebuilding challenge this year, similar to what we saw in my last post with Iowa City Regina. Last year's starting quarterback Brannan Hogan has graduated, leaving Jace Johnson as the only player with any varsity passing attempts (2, although he did complete both). Top rusher Jake Muhlbauer is also gone, along with Dawson Holkesvik and pretty much every other Viking with a varsity pass reception.

Decorah does return some talent in the offensive backfield, with Kailer McCabe (445 yards, 5 TDs), Drake Shelton (227 yards, 2 TDs) and Clay Johansen (165 yards, 4 TDs) back for their senior seasons. Shelton and McCabe were also solid defensive contributors in 2017. On special teams, Cameron DeLong was 7 for 7 on extra point kicks and hit two field goals last season, including a 38-yarder.

The Vikings are always tough, well-coached, and play Xavier hard, and I don't expect anything different even after the retirement of Bill Post.

DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION KNIGHTS

Friday, September 7

at Saints Field, Cedar Rapids Xavier High School

Broadcast on KMRY AM/FM (LIVE unless the Kernels are in a playoff game that night)

Assumption is yet another program that is consistently good; much like Xavier, they were a smaller school contender in a 4A conference prior to 2014, and have continued with good success in 3A. The Knights have a playoff streak going back at least to 2007 (the IHSAA's website archives fall apart prior to that), although in those 11 playoff appearances they've only won five games, and 2015 was the only year they advanced past the first round.

Xavier and Assumption are familiar with each other - they've played the last four years (two years as non-district foes, then Xavier ended the Knights' season in the playoffs the last two seasons). Coach Wade King has been head coach since 2002, with a record of 119-49 (.708). Since 2012, Assumption has a regular season mark of 41-13, which is even two games better than Decorah in the same time span.

Again, graduation has hit the Knights pretty hard, with Brandon Schlichting's 158 yards passing leading the way for returning quarterbacks. Johnny Hua returns for his senior season after rushing for 339 yards last year, while three juniors combined for 98 yards rushing as sophomores. Nick Gotilla is the leading returning receiver, as he caught 13 passes last season.

Assumption should be frightfully sturdy on defense, though. Returning players accounted for 182 tackles last year, ranking from 3rd to 6th on the team tackle list. Anthony Valanis led the Knights with five sacks, while Seth Adrian, Adam Metivier, and Nathan Schlichting were also adding up defensive stats (Metivier had three interceptions, while Brandon Schlichting led the team with four).

So the first third of the season - Regina, Decorah, Assumption - features three quality, traditionally strong opponents who should provide a tough challenge to the Saints, while also likely rolling up good overall season records that will help that RPI. Next time we'll finish up the non-district schedule and get started on Xavier's drive for a fifth consecutive district title.